1988 LX Head Replacement

[creyes1994]

My 88 LX has been ticking for quite some time now. Last week, I adjusted the rockers to 0.012 inches as it says under the hood, but the engine's still noisy. It's probably because of wear or lack of maintenance. So, I was wondering, are any of the EFI Festiva or Aspire heads "backwards-compatible" with the Carbureted Festiva setup or can I only use 88-89 heads? I've been looking through the forum posts, and some people say yes and some say no. I've heard that the efi heads should work with the carburetor manifold and that they have the access plate for a mechanical fuel pump, with the required lobe on the camshaft. So in theory it would work, but other people have said that an inline fuel pump with a regulator is required, so I'm not so sure any more. Any input would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

[william]

Heads will swap but on my b6 efi the block off plate was on the head for the pump but the lobe its self was not on the cam.
Not sure if its like this on the b3 or not.

[creyes1994]

That is quite possible indeed. However in my opinion, I think the EFI cam in the B3 should still have the extra lobe for the fuel pump. The only reason I think that was because back in 1989 when they had the EFI and CARB engine, it would have cost more money to make a camshaft tailored for both versons, so they might have used a common camshaft. I haven't had the opportunity to tear a head down, so I don't know for sure.

[scitzz]

IF I can remember to look tomorrow, I will see. IIRC, though, the EFI B3 still had the lobe, but NOT the Aspire head, but don't quote me on that.

[FestYboy]

so far, all the festy cams have the lobe that i've ever come across though some have not been polished smooth. but reguarding the "noise", your 88 should sound like a singer sewing machine when running (that's normal).

[scitzz]

Yep, pulled the rocker cover off an efi, had the lobe.

[TominMO]

Checked my spare Aspire cam, no lobe.

[creyes1994]

Alright so the 1988 heads were noisy to begin with, and the EFI heads have the fuel pump lobe, but not the Aspire. That's too bad, as I was hoping to get an Aspire head since it was newer, and more available at the junkyard. I really appreciate the information though.